THANH HÓA — More than 700 families in Thiệu Dương Commune and Đông Hải Ward in the central city of Thanh Hóa were evacuated by Friday morning as their area is suffering from serious flooding due to the continuous rising of the water level in the Mã River.

Torrential rains since early this week and the rising river water levels have caused flooding of up to one metre in some hamlets of Thiệu Dương Commune.

Nguyễn Anh Tuấn, vice chairman of the commune People’s Committee, said that local authorities had prepared to respond to the flood at any time. They had been working with agencies to ensure necessary supplies are available if the worst case scenario happens.

As soon as the flood waters receded, local authorities would take measures to ensure environmental hygiene and help local residents resume daily life, he said.

In Đông Hải Ward, 31 families had to evacuate by Friday morning. Another flood in early August affected over 500 families in the ward as the area was not protected by a dyke.

On Thursday, heavy rains caused landslides that buried classes in Trung Sơn Primary School in the province’s Quan Hóa District. The building that houses the school teachers also faced risk of collapse because of the on-going landslide.

Ngô Phi Hùng, head of the district’s Education and Training Department, said students at Trung Sơn Primary School and other schools in the flood-prone areas were asked to not go to school at this time.

“Relevant agencies are jointly fixing the effects of flooding and landslides,” he said.

In northern Lào Cai province, torrential rains also forced 22 families in Võ Lao and Văn Sơn Commune to evacuate urgently Thursday night because of rising flood waters.

In Thanh Phú Commune, Sa Pa District, one house was reportedly swept away because of strong flood waters.

Early Friday morning, 63 families in Pa Thơm Commune, Điện Biên District in the northern province of Điện Biện had to evacuate because of high risk of rockslides.

Bùi Minh Hải, vice director of Điện Biên Province’s agriculture department, said that in the last two days, the province had heavy downpours of 70-100mm, causing havoc in districts like Nậm Pồ, Tuần Giáo, Tủa Chùa and Điện Biên.

By Thursday, torrential rains and floods caused losses of about VNĐ120 billion in the province.

PM’s direction

Hòa Bình, Điện Biên, Sơn La and Thanh Hóa are provinces that are most affected by the torrential rains and flooding that have hit the northern and north central provinces since early this week. Meanwhile, the Mekong Delta provinces of Kiên Giang, An Giang, Đồng Tháp and Long An are also facing a high risk of flooding because of rising river water levels.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on Friday asked relevant agencies, ministries and localities to closely follow the weather changes and actively take preventive and responsive measures.

Mekong Delta provinces were asked to inspect and reinforce their dyke and embankment systems as well as other measures to ensure safety, especially for those living in river-side areas.

Local authorities will assist farmers in harvesting crops in lower areas or those unprotected by dykes. — VNS